Multiple-entity transaction systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided for performing a funds transfer. The method may include determining which of a plurality of different funds-transfer companies is able to complete the funds transfer in accordance with defined parameters. The method may also include determining a default service fee charged for the funds transfer by a funds-transfer company of a subset of the plurality of different funds-transfer companies. The method may additionally include transmitting to at least one funds-transfer company of the subset of the plurality of different funds-transfer companies details of the funds transfer, where the details of the funds-transfer comprises the default service fee. The method may furthermore include transmitting an identification of the subset of the plurality of different funds-transfer companies, each of which is capable of completing the funds transfer in accordance with the defined parameters, the subset including at least two of the plurality of different funds-transfer companies.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 8,032,452, filedNov. 6, 2002, issued Oct. 4, 2011, entitled “MULTIPLE-ENTITY TRANSACTIONSYSTEMS AND METHODS,” the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference, for all purposes, as if fully set forthherein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates generally to financial transactions. Morespecifically, this application relates to systems and methods forcoordinating transactions that may be executed by multiple entities.

The marketplace for many financial-services industries includes bothlarge companies that offer a broad range of services and smallercompanies that offer more focused services. While the availability of adiverse range of services may be considered to be a positive feature forconsumers of these services in the abstract, the very diversity ofservices often makes it difficult for consumers to identify the mostsuitable company to use for specific transactions. This is evident, forexample, in the money-transfer industry, which generally providesservices that allow a person at one location to transfer funds to aperson at a different location. A variety of different funds-transfercompanies provide different levels of service, with some smallercompanies providing relatively few geographical locations, and perhapsonly domestic locations, for initiating and receiving the transferredfunds; some larger companies provide a greater number of geographicallocations, even including international locations and providingcurrency-exchange services in addition to the bare money-transferservices themselves.

Generally, each of these companies has a different service-fee structureso that one or another company's services may be more advantageous for acustomer depending on the specific nature of the transaction. It is,however, cumbersome and inconvenient for customers to determine for anygiven transaction which company is most suitable, taking intoconsideration such factors as geographical locations served, the size ofservice charges, whether currency conversions are performed, thecurrency-conversion rate offered, and the like. There is, therefore, ageneral need in the art to provide methods and systems that permitconsumers to perform comparisons of different offerings in a convenientmanner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention therefore provide methods and systems forperforming financial transactions that permit customers to select one ofa group of companies for executing the transactions. In someembodiments, the financial transactions comprise funds-transfertransactions, although the principles of the invention may alternativelybe applied to other types of financial transactions. In embodiments ofthe invention, information regarding fees charged by the group ofcompanies and selections of those companies by customers may beexchanged between a host system and a funds-transfer initiating system.Once the selection has been made, information regarding the payout ofthe funds transfer may be communicated to an appropriate payout system.

Thus, in a first set of embodiments, a method is provided forcoordinating a funds transfer. A request to transfer funds to arecipient is received from a requester, such as at a funds-transferinitiating system and a list of funds-transfer companies that may beselected to transfer the funds is communicated. In some embodiments,this list may be displayed to the requester, although in alternativeembodiments only a selected one of the funds-transfer companies isdisplayed to the request. If the requester is presented with the list, aselection of one of the funds-transfer companies may be received and therequest and selection transmitted to a host system. In some embodiments,the funds-transfer initiating system may additionally collect the fundsto be transferred. A desired retrieval location may also be received,with the funds-transfer initiating system communicating a list offunds-transfer companies that offer funds-transfer services to thedesired retrieval location. A list of prices charged for transferringfunds by each of the funds-transfer companies may be communicated and,in some embodiments a price for one of the funds-transfer companies maybe modified before it is displayed to the requester. In instances wherethe request to transfer funds includes a foreign-currency-exchangerequest, the list of prices may include a list of foreign-currencyexchange rates offered by each of the funds-transfer companies.

In a second set of embodiments, a method is provided for performing afunds transfer. A request to transfer funds to a recipient is receivedat a host system, as well as an identification of a selectedfunds-transfer company chosen from a group of funds-transfer companiesand a request to provide the funds to the recipient. Information relatedto the request is transmitted from the host system. The request totransfer funds may include an identification of a retrieval location,with a list of funds-transfer companies that offer funds-transferservices to the retrieval location further being transmitted from thehost system to a funds-transfer initiating system. In addition, a listof prices charged by each of the group of funds-transfer companies maybe transmitted. In cases where the request to transfer funds involves aforeign-currency exchange, the list of prices may include a list offoreign-currency exchange rates offered by each of the group offunds-transfer companies. Suitable fees may be charged to thefunds-transfer companies for their inclusion in the list and/or for useof the host system.

The host system may be embodied as a computer system whose operation isdirected by a computer-readable program on a computer-readable storagemedium. Such a computer system may include a communications system and aprocessor, with the computer-readable program having instructions foroperating the computer system to perform a funds transfer in accordancewith the embodiments described above.

The funds-transfer initiating system may be implemented with atransaction device having a data-entry device, a memory, acommunications device, and a processor coupled with the data-entrydevice, the memory, and the communications device. Such a transactiondevice may be configured to perform the methods described above.Examples of interfaces that may be comprised by the communicationsdevice include an Internet interface, a telephone interface, and a PDAinterface, among others. In some embodiments, the transaction device mayadditionally comprise a cash issuer and/or a card issuer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of thespecification and the drawings wherein like reference numerals are usedthroughout the several drawings to refer to similar components. In someinstances, a sublabel is associated with a reference numeral and followsa hyphen to denote one of multiple similar components. When reference ismade to a reference numeral without specification to an existingsublabel, it is intended to refer to all such multiple similarcomponents.

The present invention is described in conjunction with the appendedfigures:

FIG. 1A is a block-diagram representation of an arrangement forimplementing multiple-entity transaction systems and methods inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1B is a schematic illustration of a device that may be used tocollect and/or pay funds in accordance with embodiments of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for performing amoney-transfer transaction in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIGS. 3A-3D are exemplary screen diagrams that may be displayed on adisplay screen during a money-transfer transaction; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a computer system on which methodsof the invention may be embodied.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention provide methods and systems for performingfinancial transactions that permit customers to select one of a group ofcompanies for executing the transactions. In the discussion thatfollows, embodiments are illustrated with examples from thefunds-transfer industry, although it will be evident to those of skillin the art that the same principles may be used in otherfinancial-transaction industries. A typical funds-transfer transactionpermits a sender at one geographical location to arrange for funds to beretrieved by a recipient at another geographical location. In someembodiments, the sender is provided with comparative information forcompanies that meet geographical location constraints for the locationsof the sender and recipient. After reviewing the comparativeinformation, the sender makes a selection of which company to use toexecute the transaction. A host system that is used to provide thecomparative information may additionally be used in the execution of thetransaction. Such a capability may be particularly desirable for smallercompanies, which may thereby use a much larger infrastructure forexecuting transactions provided by the host system that they wouldotherwise not be able to provide. In some instances, the availability ofthe host system for such functions may be provided in exchange for afee. Accordingly, such embodiments have diverse advantages forcustomers, participant financial-transaction companies, and the hostsystem.

One structure that may be used to enable such embodiments is illustratedwith the schematic diagram in FIG. 1A. Interaction between the variousfunds-transfer companies 118 whose services may be used is coordinatedby a host system 104. In addition to being configured for interactionwith the funds-transfer companies 118, the host system 104 is configuredfor interaction with a plurality of funds-transfer initiating systems108 and payout systems 120. The general function of the funds-transferinitiating systems 108 is to provide an interface with a sender 112.This interface permits the sender 112 to enter information thatspecifies the nature of the funds-transfer transaction and to receivecomparative information regarding suitable funds-transfer companies. Thegeneral function of the payout systems 120 is to provide an interfacewith a recipient 124 for collection of the transferred funds.

In FIG. 1A, the funds-transfer initiating systems 108, payout systems120, and host system are shown separately for convenience. While in manyinstances, each of these systems may be separate, in other embodiments asingle system may perform the functions of two of the types of systemsor even of all three of the types of systems. For example, a singlesystem may integrate the functions of a funds-transfer initiating system108 and a payout system 120; an example of such a combined system isdiscussed below in connection with FIG. 1B. This permits a singlelocation to act with senders 112 and recipients 124 in differentfunds-transfer transactions. In other instances, a single system mayintegrate the functions of the host system 104 and a payout system 120,or may integrate the functions of the host system 104 and afunds-transfer initiating system.

In addition, each of the funds-transfer initiating systems 108 andpayout systems 120 may be managed by one of the funds-transfer companies118. For example, these systems may be located at agent orrepresentative locations that provide services on behalf of respectivefunds-transfer companies. In such instances, direct interaction with thefunds-transfer initiating system 108 or with the payout system 120 maybe performed by the agent or representative in accordance with a requestfrom a customer. In other instances, direct interaction with thefunds-transfer initiating system 108 or with the payout system may bepossible by the customer, as described further below. The set offunds-transfer initiating systems 108 and payout systems 120 thus definea network of locations, with different portions of the network beingmanaged by different funds-transfer companies 118. The host system 104acts to coordinate activities among these multiple entities, therebyproviding a greater diversity of options to customers.

In many instances, this greater diversity is accomplished througharrangements between or among different funds-transfer companies 118 forthe use of their infrastructure or end-point services, including use oftheir payout systems. For example, in FIG. 1A the sender 112 is showninteracting with funds-transfer initiating system 108-1, which may be asystem managed by funds-transfer company 118-1. There are a variety ofreasons that could lead to the choice of the sender 112 to initiate afunds transfer at a location managed by funds-transfer company 118-1,such as the convenience of that location. The recipient 124 is showninteracting with payout system 120-3, which may be a system managed byfunds-transfer company 118-3. When initiating the transfer, the sender112 may choose to specify that the payout be at the location of payoutsystem 120-3, perhaps because of its proximity to the recipient 124,even though it is managed by a different funds-transfer company than theinitiating system 108-1. In some embodiments, the sender 112 may evendecide that the mechanics of the transfer be implemented byfunds-transfer company 118-2 because of advantageous service charges,currency-conversion rates, and the like.

The arrangement shown in FIG. 1A thus enables a funds-transfertransaction to be coordinated among multiple entities. Typically, thiscapability is coupled with a service-fee arrangement among the differententities and/or an entity that manages the host system. Such servicefees may be imposed, for example, for the use of the infrastructureprovided by a particular one of the entities, and may be passed onto thesender as part of a quoted service charge. Thus, for example, the sender112 may pay a larger service charge for arranging to have the recipient124 collect the transferred funds at payout system 120-3 than he wouldfor arranging to have the recipient 124 collect the funds at a payoutsystem controlled by funds-transfer company 118-1.

Infrastructure aspects that may be accessed by different funds-transfercompanies 118 may include, for example, interconnections with financialinstitutions. Because of the financial nature of the transactions, suchinterconnections generally have strong security and encryptionprotocols. While larger funds-transfer companies may have access to suchinterconnections, smaller funds-transfer companies may instead rely onintegration with the host system 104 to acquire access, often inexchange for a fee. This may particularly be the case for internationalor intercontinental connections used to support international orintercontinental transactions.

A portion of this infrastructure is indicated in FIG. 1A for a senderfinancial institution 116 and a recipient financial institution 128,although the infrastructure will generally comprise connections with alarge number of financial institutions. Integration with these financialinstitutions permits a wider range of options to be made available tothe sender 112 and recipient 128 when originating or collecting fundsfor the transfer. For example, if the sender financial institution 116may be accessed by the funds-transfer initiating system 108-1, thesender 112 may pay for the transaction with a credit or debit instrumentsupported by the sender financial institution 116 in lieu of providingthe funds by cash or its equivalent. Similarly, if the recipientfinancial institution 128 may be accessed by the payout system 120-3,the recipient 124 may elect for the transferred funds to be depositedwith the recipient financial institution 128 instead of receiving thepayout in cash or with a check.

A variety of different structures may be used for the funds-transferinitiating systems 108 and/or payout systems 120. Examples of suchsystems are described in detail in copending, commonly assigned U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/206,661, entitled “MONEY TRANSFER SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR TRAVELERS,” filed Jul. 26, 2002, the entire disclosureof which is herein incorporated by reference for all purposes. Forexample, local provider terminals may be used to accept cash, creditcards, checks, debit cards, stored value cards, smart cards, and thelike as part of the funds-transfer initiation and may also be used aspayout devices to print a check, print a money order, credit astored-value card, and the like. Examples of such terminals aredescribed in the following commonly assigned applications, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes: U.S. Prov. Pat. Appl. No. 60/147,889, entitled “INTEGRATEDPOINT OF SALE, DEVICE,” filed Aug. 9, 1999 by Randy J. Templeton et al.;U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/634,901, entitled “POINT OF SALEPAYMENT SYSTEM,” filed Aug. 9, 2000 by Randy J. Templeton et al; U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/116,689, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODSFOR PERFORMING TRANSACTIONS AT A POINT-OF-SALE,” filed Apr. 3, 2002 byEarney Stoutenburg et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/116,733,entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEPLOYING A POINT-OF-SALE SYSTEM,”filed Apr. 3, 2002 by Earney Stoutenburg et al.; U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/116,686, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR UTILIZING APOINT-OF-SALE SYSTEM,” filed Apr. 3, 2002 by Earney Stoutenburg et al.;and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/116,735, entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR CONFIGURING A POINT-OF-SALE SYSTEM,” filed Apr. 3, 2002 byEarney Stoutenburg.

In other embodiments, a kiosk terminal may alternatively be used toprovide this functionality. An example of a structure of such a kioskterminal is shown in schematically in FIG. 1B and designated as acombination of the funds-transfer initiating system and the payoutsystem. It will thus be appreciated that such a kiosk terminal may beused to make payments to the recipient 124 as well as to receive fundsfrom the sender 112. The kiosk includes a controller 150 that maycommunicate with various component devices such as a card reader 158, acard writer 160, a card issuer 162, a cash issuer 164, and a checkprinter 166. The kiosk terminal may include some or all of thesedevices.

The card reader 158 permits the entry of information such as where thesender 112 has a card identifying information common to manytransactions initiated by the sender 112, such as the sender's name,identification number, and the like. These may be used to populate atransaction screen 300 as described below. The card reader 158 may alsobe used to extract information from credit cards, debit cards, smartcards, stored value cards, and the like in embodiments where the sender112 wishes to use those instruments as a source of funds for thetransfer. The card writer 160 similarly permits information to beencoded and stored on a variety of similar types of cards. Thiscapability permits the kiosk to payout transferred funds in someembodiments by adding value to a stored-value card, smart card, and thelike. In some cases, cards may be issued to the sender 112 or recipient124 using the card issuer 162. For example, a customer card may beissued as part of the registration process of the sender 112, permittingthe sender 112 to use the card rather than re-enter identificationinformation for later transfers. The card issuer 162 may also be used toissue cards when making payments to recipients in the form of storedvalue cards, smart cards, cash cards, and the like. These may then beused at other kiosks or ATMs to withdraw the transferred funds.

The cash issuer 164 may be used to dispense cash directly to therecipient 124 after the identity of the recipient 124 has beenconfirmed, such as by having an identification card read by the cardreader 158 and entering a personal identification number. Cash payoutsmay also be made by using the card reader 158 and cash issuer 164 incombination to redeem value from a card having stored value.

The kiosk terminal may also include connections for different interfacesthat permit different types of interactions, including certain remoteinteractions, with customers. For example, a PDA interface 170 maypermit a PDA device to be coupled to the kiosk terminal, allowing atransfer to be made directly from the sender's PDA, which mayconveniently be preprogrammed with various information relating to thetransaction, such as account numbers, information on the recipient 124,and the like. A telephone interface 172 may permit transactions to bestaged by voice with an IVR system or with DTMF tones. In still otherembodiments, an Internet interface 174 may permit transactions to bestaged by customers over the Internet.

Regardless of the type of interface used by customers, transactions maybe effected in similar ways. Examples of transactions effected with thearrangement shown in FIG. 1A are provided in the following discussion,referring simultaneously to FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3A-3D. FIG. 2 provides aflow diagram illustrating the aspects of the transaction and FIGS. 3A-3Dprovide examples of information that appears on a display device atdifferent stages of the transaction. Such a display device maycorrespond to a transaction screen 300 comprised by the funds-transferinitiating system 112 or may correspond to a screen presented tocustomers on a PDA through a PDA connection, on a cell-phone displaythrough a telephone interface, or on a monitor through an Internetconnection; in instances where an interface is used without a display,such as through certain telephone connections, equivalent recorded voicecommands may provide an alternative interface. The display device maypresent information to the sender 112 related to the transaction and mayrequest the entry of information, such as with a keyboard, mouse,touchscreen, or any other suitable interface known to those of skill inthe art. In alternative embodiments, the information may be collected bya clerk at a location of one of the funds-transfer companies, with theclerk entering the information into the funds-transfer initiating system108 through a similar interface.

As indicated at block 204 of FIG. 2, a funds-transfer transaction beginsin an embodiment with a visit by a sender 112 to a funds-transferinitiating system 108. A “visit” may be a visit to an agent orrepresentative location, may be a personal visit to a kiosk terminal, ormay be remote visit through one of the interface capabilities.Information regarding the funds-transfer request is collected at block208, such as with the display 300 shown in FIG. 3A. Fields are providedon the display 300 to collect such information. Thus an amount field 304permits the sender to specify the funds to be transferred, together witha specification of the currency in a currency field 306 if appropriate.A location field 308 permits a specification of a location where therecipient 124 can collect the transferred funds. The exemplary displayshows the location field as a drop-down menu with general descriptionsof the location, although in other embodiments the location may bespecified in other ways, such as by ZIP code, specific addressdesignation, telephone exchange, etc. The display also includes arecipient name field 312 for the sender 112 to identify the recipient124. A source-of-funds field 316 may also be provided where the sender112 is given the opportunity to provide the funds for the transfer indifferent ways. In instances where funds are provided in cash or itsequivalent, the funds may be collected from the sender 112 by a clerk.In instances where funds are provided with one of the other meansdescribed above with respect to FIG. 1B, i.e. by credit card, debitcard, smart card, stored-value card, etc., the corresponding capabilityof the funds-transfer initiating system 112 may be used. Once theinformation to define the transaction has been entered, the sender mayclick a submit button 320.

The form of the interface shown in FIG. 3A is merely exemplary. Those ofskill in the art will recognize that more sophisticated interfaces maybe used and that the interfaces may be tailored to specificapplications. For example, the location selection might be handled witha map interface controlled with touch-screen commands, a calculatorfunction might be included, records may be maintained to facilitateidentification of the sender, including through the use of biometricidentifications, and various other enhancements may be incorporated.

After the parameters defining the desired transfer are specified by thesender 112, the funds-transfer initiating system 108 determines which ofthe funds-transfer companies 118 may complete the transfer and displaysinformation from that determination at block 212. The content of thedisplay may depend on the specific nature of the desired transfer. Forexample, in some embodiments, the system may be configured to displayinformation only a selected one of the funds-transfer companies 118 andin other embodiments may be configured to display information for all ofthe funds-transfer companies that meet the specified criteria. Displayof information for a single funds-transfer company may be appropriatewhere that funds-transfer company is using the backend arrangement ofthe infrastructure, but otherwise wishes to retain a distinct identity.

As indicated at block 216, the fees to effect the transfer may bedisplayed for each of the funds-transfer companies listed. The fees thatare listed may be based on various types of information in differentembodiments. For example, in one embodiment, the details of thefunds-transfer transaction may be the only information used indetermining the fees. In other instances, customer information may alsobe used, reflecting such factors as the frequency that a specificcustomer uses the system to give high-frequency customers more favorablerates. In other instances, exclusive or promotional pricing schemes maybe presented for customers transferring funds to certain predeterminedlocations. Still other factors known to those of skill in the art may beaccommodated in determining fees to be presented.

In one embodiment, a particular funds-transfer company that has paid apremium may be given a further opportunity to modify the fee presentedto the sender before it is displayed. In such an embodiment, the feescalculated according to the default criteria are transmitted to theparticular funds-transfer company for review and the that funds-transfercompany may return a modified fee to be presented to the customer. Themodified fee may be higher or lower than the fee calculated with thedefault criteria and will usually be determined automatically from thecomparison fees by a program maintained by the particular funds-transfercompany.

An example of a listing that includes proposed fees is provided in FIG.3B for a domestic transfer within the United States on screen 300′.Three companies are identified as providing funds-transfer servicesbetween the location of the sender 112 and the identified desiredrecipient location. For each of the three companies, the amount to betransferred, the service fee to be charged to the sender 112 and theresulting total cost are displayed. As previously mentioned, the servicefee to be charged to the sender 112 may partially represent costs beingconveyed to the customer for use of an infrastructure by some of thecompanies. For example, AA Inc., which has the lowest service feelisted, may be a large company with widely distributed offices and asufficient infrastructure to support the desired transfer. In contrast,XY Corp., which has the highest service fee listed, may be a smallercompany that needs to use some of the AA Inc. infrastructure to effectthe transfer. Thus, even if the sender decides to use XY Corp., perhapsbecause of name recognition, customer loyalty, or some other reason, AAInc. may still benefit from the transaction through a fee charged to XYCorp. for use of its infrastructure.

In other instances, the amount of information provided regarding thepossible transactions may be different. For example, FIG. 3C shows anexemplary display for an international transfer, in this instancebetween a sender 112 in the United States and a recipient 124 in Canada.On screen 300″, the amount to be transferred is thus expressed inCanadian dollars (“C$”) and the total to be charged by each of thefunds-transfer companies is expressed in U.S. dollars (“US $”). Thistotal accounts for a currency-exchange rate and a service fee, both ofwhich are displayed in accordance with blocks 216 and 220 of FIG. 2. Theservice fees charged by each of the companies may reflect a portion offees that they themselves must pay for use of an infrastructure toeffect the transfer. In the example shown in FIG. 3C, the service fee tobe charged by XXZ Corp. is significantly higher than that to be chargedby XY Corp., perhaps as a result of additional fees charged to XXZ Corp.as described above. The currency-exchange rate to be charged by XXZCorp. is, however, significantly lower than the currency-exchange rateto be charged by XY Corp. so that the overall cost for the transfer islower for XY Corp.

In still other instances, transaction options may be included with thelist presented to the sender that go beyond funds transfers. Forexample, many of the funds-transfer companies 118 may provide subsidiaryservices to supplement the transfers themselves, including such servicesas providing a telephone notification to the recipient 124 of thetransfer, providing a notification to the sender 112 once the transferhas been collected, providing a singing-telegram feature to accompanythe transfer, and the like. In some embodiments, the sender 112 mayselect a subsidiary service that is provided by a differentfunds-transfer company than the company selected to perform the transferitself. For example, XY Corp. may be selected to perform the fundstransfer, but does not offer a telephone-notification service that thesender 112 wants; the sender may then select XXZ Corp. to perform thetelephone notification using its existing capabilities to do so. In suchcases, reconciliation of the proportions of the fees due to each of theinvolved funds-transfer companies 118 may be made according to anagreement between them that is managed by the host system 104.

Thus, after reviewing the conditions for each of the funds-transfercompanies 118 in the group displayed, the sender 112 makes a selectionof which company to use for the transfer at block 224, as well as anyother selections for subsidiary services. This may be done byhighlighting one of the selections with cursor controls or a touchscreensuch as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C and executing the submit function 320.After the desired offering has been selected, the actual transaction iscoordinated by the host system in accordance with protocols establishedby the selected funds-transfer company. Funds are collected from thesender at block 228, perhaps in cash or its equivalent by a clerk orautomatically by issuing a debit instruction to the sender financialinstitution 116. The funds-transfer initiating system then transmits therequest for the transfer to the host system 104 at block 232.

Reconciliation of the transfer in accordance with the selections made bythe sender 112 is coordinated by the host system 104, includingtransmitting a payout request to the designated payout system at block236. The host system 104 maintains information regarding agreements madewith each of the funds-transfer companies reflecting negotiated ratesfor using the infrastructure and may also maintain information regardingagreements between the funds-transfer companies regarding negotiatedrates for using parts of the infrastructure controlled by particularcompanies. For each transfer, the host system 104 determines how fees,revenue, and profit allotments are to be distributed among the differententities. These distributions are accumulated over a period of time,such as a day or week, with actual reconciliation being made accordingto the net amounts due to and from each of the entities at the end ofthat period.

After the payout request has been successfully transmitted, a screen maybe displayed to the sender 112 as shown in FIG. 3D to confirm thedetails of the transaction. A receipt may be printed on a printerconnected with the funds-transfer initiating system or sent to thesender 112 electronically, depending on how the sender 112 hasinterfaced with the system. After receipt of the payout request, therecipient 124 may collect the transferred funds from the payout system120. In some instances, such collection may be done in person, with therecipient being issued cash, a check, or equivalent by a clerk. In otherinstances, the payout may be provided directly as a credit to an accountof the recipient's held at the recipient financial institution 128,credit to a stored-value card, and the like.

FIG. 4 provides a schematic illustration of a structure that may be usedto implement the host system 104. FIG. 4 broadly illustrates howindividual system elements may be implemented in a separated or moreintegrated manner. The host system 104 is shown comprised of hardwareelements that are electrically coupled via bus 426, including aprocessor 402, an input device 404, an output device 406, a storagedevice 408, a computer-readable storage media reader 410 a, acommunications system 414, a processing acceleration unit 416 such as aDSP or special-purpose processor, and a memory 418. Thecomputer-readable storage media reader 410 a is further connected to acomputer-readable storage medium 410 b, the combination comprehensivelyrepresenting remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plusstorage media for temporarily and/or more permanently containingcomputer-readable information. The communications system 414 maycomprise a wired, wireless, modem, and/or other type of interfacingconnection and permits data to be exchanged with the funds-transferinitiating systems 108, the payout systems 120, and the funds-transfercompany to implement embodiments as described above.

The host system 104 also comprises software elements, shown as beingcurrently located within working memory 420, including an operatingsystem 424 and other code 422, such as a program designed to implementmethods of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in theart that substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used and/orparticular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets), or both. Further,connection to other computing devices such as network input/outputdevices may be employed.

Thus, having described several embodiments, it will be recognized bythose of skill in the art that various modifications, alternativeconstructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from thespirit of the invention. Accordingly, the above description should notbe taken as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for performing a funds transfer, themethod comprising: determining, with a host system, which of a pluralityof different funds-transfer companies is able to complete the fundstransfer in accordance with defined parameters; determining, with thehost system, a default service fee charged for the funds transfer by afunds-transfer company of a subset of the plurality of differentfunds-transfer companies; transmitting, from the host system to at leastone funds-transfer company of the subset of the plurality of differentfunds-transfer companies, details of the funds transfer; transmitting,from the host system, an identification of the subset of the pluralityof different funds-transfer companies, each of which is capable ofcompleting the funds transfer in accordance with the defined parameters,the subset including at least one of the plurality of differentfunds-transfer companies; transmitting, from the host system to asender, a list of prices charged for transferring funds by each of thesubset of the plurality of different funds-transfer companies;receiving, at the host system, a selection of a funds-transfer company;and receiving, at the host system, a request to initiate the fundstransfer.
 2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:receiving a request to transfer funds to a recipient, the requestincluding geographic location constraints of a sender, wherein each ofthe subset of the plurality of different funds-transfer companies offersfunds-transfer services for the sender that meet the geographic locationconstraints of the sender.
 3. The method of claim 1, the method furthercomprising: receiving a request to transfer funds to a recipient, therequest including geographic location constraints of the recipient,wherein each of the subset of the plurality of different funds-transfercompanies offers funds-transfer services to the recipient that meet thegeographic location constraints of the recipient.
 4. The method of claim1, the method further comprising: receiving a request to transfer fundsto a recipient, the request including a geographic location therecipient, wherein at least one of the subset of the plurality ofdifferent funds-transfer companies offers funds-transfer services to thegeographic location at a promotional service fee that is less than thedefault service fee.
 5. The method of claim 1, the method furthercomprising: receiving a request to transfer funds to a recipient, therequest including an identification of a retrieval location, whereineach of the subset of the plurality of different funds-transfercompanies offers funds-transfer services to the retrieval location. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein: the defined parameters include aforeign-currency-exchange; and the list of prices includes a list offoreign-currency exchange rates offered by each of the subset of theplurality of different funds-transfer companies.
 7. The method of claim1, the method further comprising: charging at least one of the subset ofthe plurality of different funds-transfer companies an inclusion fee,the inclusion fee charged for including such at least one of the subsetof the plurality of different funds-transfer companies in the list orprices.
 8. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:charging the chosen funds-transfer company a use fee for use of the hostsystem.
 9. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:receiving a request to transfer funds; and causing to be displayed on aselectable user interface to a sender for the sender to select aretrieval location from a plurality of retrieval locations where arecipient will collect the fund transfer, the request further includingparameters for the funds transfer that include the retrieval locationselected by the sender on the selectable user interface.
 10. Anon-transitory machine readable medium having instructions storedthereon for performing a funds transfer, the instructions executable bya processor to at least: determine which of a plurality of differentfunds-transfer companies is able to complete the funds transfer inaccordance with defined parameters; determine a default service feecharged for the funds transfer by a funds-transfer company of a subsetof the plurality of different funds-transfer companies; transmit to atleast one funds-transfer company of the subset of the plurality ofdifferent funds-transfer companies, details of the funds transfer;transmit an identification of the subset of the plurality of differentfunds-transfer companies, each of which is capable of completing thefunds transfer in accordance with the defined parameters, the subsetincluding at least one of the plurality of different funds-transfercompanies; transmit to a sender a list of prices charged fortransferring funds by each of the subset of the plurality of differentfunds-transfer companies; receive a selection of a funds-transfercompany; and receive a request to initiate the funds transfer.
 11. Thenon-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, the instructionsfurther executable to: receive a request to transfer funds to arecipient, the request including geographic location constraints of asender, wherein each of the subset of the plurality of differentfunds-transfer companies offers funds-transfer services for the senderthat meet the geographic location constraints of the sender.
 12. Thenon-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, the instructionsfurther executable to: receive a request to transfer funds to arecipient, the request including geographic location constraints of therecipient, wherein each of the subset of the plurality of differentfunds-transfer companies offers funds-transfer services to the recipientthat meet the geographic location constraints of the recipient.
 13. Thenon-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, the instructionsfurther executable to: receive a request to transfer funds to arecipient, the request including an identification of a retrievallocation, wherein each of the subset of the plurality of differentfunds-transfer companies offers funds-transfer services to the retrievallocation.
 14. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10,the instructions further executable to: receive a request to transferfunds; and cause to be displayed on a selectable user interface to asender for the sender to select a retrieval location from a plurality ofretrieval locations where a recipient will collect the fund transfer,the request further including parameters for the funds transfer thatinclude the retrieval location selected by the sender on the selectableuser interface.
 15. A system for performing a funds transfer, whereinthe system comprises: a host computer configured to: determine which ofa plurality of different funds-transfer companies is able to completethe funds transfer in accordance with defined parameters; determine adefault service fee charged for the funds transfer by a funds-transfercompany of a subset of the plurality of different funds-transfercompanies; transmit to at least one funds-transfer company of the subsetof the plurality of different funds-transfer companies, details of thefunds transfer; transmit an identification of the subset of theplurality of different funds-transfer companies, each of which iscapable of completing the funds transfer in accordance with the definedparameters, the subset including at least one of the plurality ofdifferent funds-transfer companies; transmit to a sender a list ofprices charged for transferring funds by each of the subset of theplurality of different funds-transfer companies; receive a selection ofa funds-transfer company; and receive a request to initiate the fundstransfer.
 16. The system for performing a funds transfer of claim 15,wherein the host computer system is further configured to: receive arequest to transfer funds to a recipient, the request includinggeographic location constraints of a sender, wherein each of the subsetof the plurality of different funds-transfer companies offersfunds-transfer services for the sender that meet the geographic locationconstraints of the sender.
 17. The system for performing a fundstransfer of claim 15, wherein the host computer system is furtherconfigured to: receive a request to transfer funds to a recipient, therequest including geographic location constraints of the recipient,wherein each of the subset of the plurality of different funds-transfercompanies offers funds-transfer services to the recipient that meet thegeographic location constraints of the recipient.
 18. The system forperforming a funds transfer of claim 15, wherein the host computersystem is further configured to: receive a request to transfer funds toa recipient, the request including an identification of a retrievallocation, wherein each of the subset of the plurality of differentfunds-transfer companies offers funds-transfer services to the retrievallocation.
 19. The system for performing a funds transfer of claim 15,wherein the host computer system is further configured to: receive arequest to transfer funds; and cause to be displayed on a selectableuser interface to a sender for the sender to select a retrieval locationfrom a plurality of retrieval locations where a recipient will collectthe fund transfer, the request further including parameters for thefunds transfer that include the retrieval location selected by thesender on the selectable user interface.